Everything remained good as they lit the final Saturn V stage, breaking free of Earth orbit and setting off for the Moon. But the mission’s first critical issue appeared three hours after liftoff, when Roosa attempted to dock the Command Module (CM), named Kitty Hawk, with the Lunar Module (LM), named Antares, and extract it from inside the final booster stage.
Roosa: Let’s set a record, shall we?
Shepard: OK.
Roosa: All right.
Mitchell: Slow and easy.
Roosa: OK. And we’re going to start.
Shepard: OK [garbled].
Roosa: Sweaty-palm time.
Mitchell: OK. At 59:50, CMS MODE, AUTO.
Roosa: Sweaty-palm time.
Mitchell: Oh, no, just do it slow and easy.
Roosa: Oh, no. I just keep mumbling that.
Mitchell and Roosa: OK.
The maneuver seemed to come off as planned. But when the CM docking probe made contact with the drogue mounted to the LM, the probe’s spring-loaded latches failed to snap into place. Roosa applied forward thrust and made contact a second time, but it still didn’t latch.
Roosa: OK, Houston. We’ve hit it twice, and sure looks like we’re closing fast enough. I’m going to back out here and try it again.
Fullerton: Roger.
Roosa’s third attempt also failed to latch.
Roosa: Well, there goes the record.
Mitchell: Don’t worry about it. Let’s get him picked up.
Roosa: OK. Man, we’d better back off here and think about this one, Houston.
After checking some circuit breakers to ensure electrical power was reaching the probe, Roosa readied for a fourth try. This time, Houston suggested holding forward thrust after contact for three seconds to try and secure the probe latches.
Roosa: And here we come in again.
Fullerton: Roger.
Roosa: 1, 2, 3, 4 — son of a b—-, nothing! OK, Houston. I hit it pretty good and held [forward thrust for] four seconds on contact, and we did not latch.
Fullerton: Roger. We’re seeing it all on TV here.
Roosa: [Sigh.] S—. [Garbled] one more time.
After a fifth try failed, Houston suggested that Roosa make contact with the drogue, continue to thrust forward, and, even if the probe didn’t achieve a “soft dock,” retract the probe in the hopes that some of the 12 tunnel latches would snap into place.
Mitchell: About 6 feet out. [Pause.] About — 2 feet.
Roosa: About a foot. Here we go. OK, RETRACT.
Shepard: Nothing happened.
Roosa: Nothing?
Shepard: I don’t know.
Suddenly, the latches engaged in a series of loud snaps.
Shepard: I got — got a barber pole. [A diagonal-striped “barber pole” status indicator meant an action was in progress.] We got a hard dock.
Mitchell: We got some [latches], Houston.
Fullerton: Roger.
Roosa: I believe we got a hard dock, Houston.
Fullerton: Outstanding.
Roosa: We got it.
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